8a/8b Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist

at  Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

We are looking for an 8a/8b psychologist to provide 9months maternity cover to our 12 bedded rehabilitation and recovery unit. This is an integral role within the Mental Health Recovery Pathway and offers an exciting opportunity to further develop the unit’s psychological provision and ethos.
Meadowbank is a 24hr, 7 day a week provision for men with diagnoses such as schizophrenia and personality disorders, and comorbid difficulties such as forensic issues, drug and alcohol problems and neurodevelopmental conditions including ADHD and Autism. It is situated on the Berrywood Hospital site in Northampton. Its primary role is to re-integrate individuals back into the community, to regain a meaningful life by supporting and enabling them to develop recovery goals (based on the CHIME framework), their daily living skills, develop their understanding of their diagnosis, undertake relapse prevention work, and increase responsibility for self-management.
There are a significant number of psychologists within NHFT working across different specialties and there are also excellent opportunities for professional development through regular monthly trust wide psychology meetings and active peer supervision networks. The Trust enjoys good links with both Oxford and Leicester Doctoral training courses.
We are looking for someone to join the unit’s leadership team and to work alongside the Ward Manager and Consultant Psychiatrist in providing high-quality, person-centred rehabilitation.
The successful candidate will have experience of using robust psychological formulations to enhance the care offered by themselves and the wider MDT. Previous work with people with severe and enduring mental health problems, comorbid drug and alcohol problems, forensic issues or neurodevelopmental conditions would be an advantage. As would a recovery or rehabilitation ethos.
We are also looking for someone who can offer service users direct psychological intervention to meet their needs and work indirectly with the staff team, leading positive changes, offering 1:1 clinical supervision, peer supervision/reflective practice and teaching.
Supervision and line management for this post is provided by the Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead for the Recovery Pathway. There are monthly meetings with psychology colleagues in the pathway to discuss cases, receive CPD and explore organisational issues. Job planned time for training and research is available and encouraged.
NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools. We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
NHFT promotes a culture of learning to improve the care and safety of our patients and staff, which focuses on people who enable our Trust to be ‘outstanding’ by supporting opportunity, innovation, development and growth.

• Forming part of the leadership team on the unit, wo rking closely with the Ward Manager and Consultant Psychiatrist
• Screening and developing in-depth psychological formulations for people on the unit
• Taking a prominent role in the assessment of risk, including forensic risk
• Carrying out psychological assessments and interventions focused on promoting rehabilitation and recovery
• Running an established group programme and supporting the development of new ones
• Offering direct supervision to clinical leads and where available an Assistant Psychologist/Trainee Psychologist.
• Facilitating peer supervision for the unit
• Supporting a recovery ethos within the unit
• Liaising with a broad range of services and advocating for the correct pathway for service users.
• Overseeing the use of outcome measures
• Service evaluation/Audit
• Attending psychology wide meetings and fulfilling additional trust wide leadership roles (e.g. offering supervision to inpatient psychologists, supporting in investigating complaints).